To date, a tablet of a pharmaceutical product or the like has typically been produced by forming an intermediate product in each of the individualized processes of granulating, drying, grading, and mixing, and obtaining a tablet in the final process of compression molding (i.e., tableting).
Production according to such a batch method includes several halfway scaling-up processes in order to enlarge a small compression-molding machine for research and development to a large compression-molding machine for commercial use. There is also need to conduct verification experiments for such scaling-up, which will increase the frequency of using a raw material of powdery material and need enormous costs.
Moreover, the batch method includes standby periods between the processes and thus has difficulty in timely feeding an intermediate product. The batch method also needs facility design for each of the processes and occupation of a large space. Specifically, each of the processes needs a separate chamber and delivery by a worker of an intermediate product to a chamber for the subsequent process.
In view of this, there is a demand for continuously conducting the processes unlike in the batch method. Such continuous conduct of the processes needs prompt monitoring.
JP 2008-183168 A discloses a volumetric feeding device and an in-line mixer, and describes a sensor configured to promptly check a mixed state of powdery materials prior to tableting. The mixed state is, however, monitored only in a pipe. Such a configuration merely achieves removal of a defective tableted product, alert issue, or operation suspension in a case where the powdery materials have a mixing degree out of a predetermined range. Furthermore, it is difficult to specify a tablet made of the mixed powdery materials having a mixing degree out of the predetermined range.
JP 2014-221343 A discloses a tablet production module and a method of continuously producing tablets, and describes an analytical sensor. JP 2014-221343 A, however, fails to clarify how to specifically configure the tablet production module and how to monitor the same.